Botox, Plastic Surgery, and Hollywood: Is It Ever OK?

Jenny McCarthy didn't exactly drop a bombshell on The Tonight Show a few nights ago when she told Conan O'Brien that most Hollywood actresses over the age of 36 have had Botox. "Anyone that doesn't [admit it] is full of [bleep]," she said. Many women are getting sick of the denials McCarthy was referring to—about Botox injections and other procedures. After all, the "I would never" trend among celebs who obviously have not only perpetuates unrealistic ideals about a woman's aging face, it's contrary to how regular women feel about their own "work." One recent study of plastic surgery patients found that a whopping 87 percent say they have no problem chatting about their wrinkle fillers and Botox use with friends and family, and 43 percent admit they're even open to talking about their procedures with strangers.

But what may be even more interesting in the discussion of Hollywood’s infatuation with injections and such may be the newest question being raised by a few outspoken stars: And that's whether it's ever a good idea for an actress to get Botox or plastic surgery. In an interview earlier this year, Rachel Weisz jokingly questioned whether, as with steroids in sports, Botox should be banned in the acting world because it’s a craft that is so dependent on facial expression. "Why would you want to iron out a frown?," she asked. And in the new issue of Vanity Fair, the gorgeous (and believably un-Botoxed) Meryl Streep—she’s 60 and truly looks amazing, laugh lines and all—says that she's dismayed by how widespread cosmetic surgery is in Hollywood. "When I see it in the people I meet," Streep told Vanity Fair, "It's like an interruption in communication with them. It's like a flag in front of the view, and that, for an actor, is like wearing a veil; it's not a good thing."

So what do you think? Does Botox and plastic surgery diminish a star’s ability to act? And, if so, which celebrities do you wish had never gone under the knife or gotten poked with a syringe?